A day in the life...

[Mendip]

I may moan occasionally about living in Korat... well most days to be honest, but if I left I think I would miss it a bit.

There's always something to shake your head at in bemusement when living in Isaan, which I guess is true for anywhere in Thailand. This can be extremely frustrating but is also strangely part of the attraction. Even after fifteen years I don't really know what to expect out of a day which is something I don't find when living in the West.

I wish I'd written about many of these 'experiences' since we arrived in 2006, but I guess it's never too late and the start of an extended period in Isaan seems like a good enough time to begin this thread. My intention is for this to be a collection of 'happenings' that aren't dog or pond related but we shall see.


Yesterday when I hooked the dead fish out of the pond I couldn't help noticing that one of our coconut trees was looking decidedly unhealthy. Many of the fronds were brown and dead...



... and a few pokes with a stick showed that high up the trunk was soft and rotten.



To be honest I sometimes wonder WTF the gardener does when I'm away.

I had my suspicions what was wrong with the tree and decided to chop the it down. Beside, it's good fun chopping trees down.

I started by chopping off the fronds.



And while I was doing this I spotted this... but I think it was just a common-in-garden cockroach and not the culprit I had in mind.



Once the fronds were gone I started on the trunk. The plan was to land it away from the pond.



With all the noise I was making Anna and Vigo came over to investigate. These two are confined to our pond area for a few days while Anna sees her season through. Vigo was getting run ragged trying to fend of a pack of suitors out the back of our house so I brought them in for a while... rather than face yet more vet bills. He's only small and usually comes off the worst after fighting.

I don't think Vigo's exclusive access to Anna is going quite how he hoped. He follows her around but whenever he tries to ease up onto her back she snarls and gives him and earful. She may be in season but she certainly ain't easy... I guess we've all been there.



Anyway, I continued chopping until the tree was ready to go. I was glad Anna and Vigo were watching cos I'd have felt a bit stupid shouting 'timber' to an empty garden.



Once the top, rotten part of the coconut tree trunk was on the ground I did some investigating and it was as I'd expected... I've seen this before.



This little bugger didn't want to come out...until I prodded him with a stick from behind.



He was about two inches long and as fat as a girls finger.



And a selection of the adults and larvae.



These are bamboo or palm weevils, I'm not sure which species. The adult beetles must have laid their eggs in the coconut tree and the larvae then munch their way through. The closest I could find on the net was this.



And of course, this is Isaan... as usual some disgusting bug turns out to be a delicacy. It seems in Malaysia they like to pop them in their mouths while still alive. Now, I'm sure that you Aussies are used to munching down on live Witchetty grubs but the thought of eating these just makes me feel like gagging.



I had a good haul and it seemed a shame to waste them.





I offered them to the gardener but he seemed as repulsed as I about eating them... and this from a guy who thinks nothing of hooking out dead fish floating on the pond and cooking them up.

But of course the wife expressed an interest. I decided to let her lunch alone while I cleaned up outside.

Anna came to watch me clear up... and it appeared that Vigo was taking some time out to reconsider his tactics.



The piece of tree trunk was just too heavy to lift so I lay the wheelbarrow on it's side and had to kneel down and tried to manhandle and roll the trunk into it. While I was up close and intimate something moved... and I jumped back screaming like a baby. This bloody thing must have been five inches across. I just can't do spiders and left the gardener to finish up.



It wasn't much better indoors to be honest.

I've been asked a few times... and this is why I cook most of my food when I'm home.

Giant weevil larvae omelette anyone?



No way did my wife get a good night kiss after that!